An 800-year-old archaeological site in New Zealand is at risk of being flooded by rising sea levels.

What's happening?

The Wairau Bar, or Te Pokohiwi o Kupe in the Māori language, was home to one of the first human settlements of Aotearoa, Radio New Zealand reported. Three of the people who conducted this research detailed the results and their cultural and historical importance to the Rangitāne o Wairau people in The Conversation.

"It dates back to at least 1250. We regard it as the birthplace of the nation; it was a landing site for some of our first settlers," study co-author Corey Hebberd told RNZ. "The site itself holds a range of artefacts but also more importantly koiwi tangata, so ancestral remains, and for Rangitāne o Wairau, it's a sacred wāhi tapu [place]."

The Rangitāne — a Māori iwi, or tribe — protested excavations in the mid-20th century, decades after the site was first raided. They finally experienced the repatriation of ancestors' remains in 2009, Hebberd, Peter N. Meihana, and Shaun Paul Williams wrote.

The study showed Te Pokohiwi o Kupe could be 20% inundated in a 100-year flood, though rising sea levels mean that the threat will only grow. If sea levels increase by half a meter by the 2050s as expected, the area will be at risk of 50% inundation, according to RNZ. One meter of rise, set for 45-105 years in the future, creates a 75% inundation risk.

Why is this important?

Rising global temperatures are wreaking havoc with Earth's climate, not only making it hotter but also melting ice and expanding water. Hotter air holds more moisture, and melting glaciers and other ice as well as thermal expansion also threaten low-lying land.

Though global sea levels are rising just fractions of an inch per year, the trend is only continuing, and the rate is accelerating. Since 1993, average yearly sea level rise has more than doubled, per NASA.

This means more dangerous storm surges and more frequent high-tide flooding. Generally, the overheating planet is making extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and wildfires more common and severe.

The problem is primarily caused by the burning of dirty energy sources, which releases heat-trapping pollution into the atmosphere. These gases envelop Earth like a blanket, preventing heat from escaping into space.

What's being done about Te Pokohiwi o Kupe?

Te Pokohiwi o Kupe is eroding with every heavy rain, and though flooding has not been a major issue, it could become one without intervention. Native plants provide one path to shore up the land and bind soil together, RNZ reported. Bigger actions will be necessary, however.

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"It's a really good opportunity for us to turn our minds to the policy and planning settings that we work within both locally and nationally," said Hebberd, a descendant of local iwi Rangitāne o Wairau. "This site is one of many, not only in our rohe [territory] but nationally, that will be exposed to weather events, and so we need to start thinking about how we take care of and protect them."

Hebberd described how whānau, or extended family, supported the research and shared mātauranga, or traditional Māori knowledge, about flooding in the area, proving that exploring critical climate issues can help in the journey to a safer future.

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